BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) — Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a new high-quality production force and has become a prominent player in China’s scientific and technological progress, currently driving industry-wide upgrading and innovation.
This year’s Government Work Report calls for faster adoption of new generations of intelligent terminals and AI agents, large-scale commercial application of AI in key sectors and sectors, and fostering new forms and models of AI-native business.
The country is steadily advancing high-quality development, and its vast market and established industrial system offer wide prospects for AI applications.
A woman visits the permanent exhibition at the Zhongguancun Exhibition Center in Beijing, the capital of China, on March 25, 2026. (Xinhua News Agency/Zhu Huanzong)
Agricultural tools develop the “brain”
Currently, rapidly developing information technology and AI technology are deeply integrating with China’s agricultural production. Intelligent agricultural machinery is becoming an increasingly convenient “new agricultural tool”.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the contribution rate of China’s agricultural science and technology progress will exceed 64% in 2025.
A farmer monitors the operation of intelligent agricultural machinery from the cab at Youyi Farm Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Beida Huang Group, in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang Province on April 28, 2026. (Xinhua/Wangsong)Staff tending to seedlings at an intelligent seedling factory in Guangshan County, Henan Province, central China, April 6, 2026. (Photo provided by Xie Wanbo/Xinhua)Staff use machines to cultivate intelligent seedlings at a cooperative in Liangping District, Chongqing, southwest China, on March 27, 2026. (Photo provided by Xiong Wei/Xinhua)An employee monitors field conditions in real time and coordinates fertilizer delivery and inventory through a smart system at a fertilizer company in Manas County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China (March 4, 2026, Xinhua/Dinglei)On April 17, 2026, trainees learn to operate agricultural drones at a tea plantation in Baicha Village, Yundong Town, Duyun City, Qiannan Boyi Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province, southwest China (Xinhua News Agency/Yang Wenbin)
Business is “making money smarter”
Dedicated “AI plus software” actions will be launched to foster new business models, while the open source ecosystem will be further strengthened and basic and industrial software will benefit from intelligent upgrades.
Currently, the integration of AI, robots, and digital technologies into the country’s service sector is accelerating.
Citizens learn about “one-man companies” (OPCs) in Xuzhou, eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on March 14, 2026. Due to rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), “one-person companies” (OPCs) will experience explosive growth across China in early 2026. (Photo provided by Kuai Chuang/Xinhua)Visitors learn about AI glasses at the booth of Hangzhou-based technology company Rokid during the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, southern China’s Hainan province, April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Gaojing)An AI-equipped robot barista prepares coffee at a coffee shop in Xiong’an New Area, Hebei Province, northern China, on March 25, 2026 (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)A staff member speaks with an AI digital document at the Boao Asia Forum (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 in southern China’s Hainan province, March 25, 2026 (Xinhua/Wang Yiliang)A staff member trains a robot on a shelf placement mission in a simulated environment at the provincial body-based AI training center in Guangzhou, southern China’s Guangdong province, April 7, 2026. (Xinhua/Touhua)An exhibitor demonstrates a multidimensional holographic research system using AI for sensory behavior related to cosmetics at the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) held in Haikou, Hainan Province, southern China, on April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)An AI-powered virtual employee of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) photographed at the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) held in Haikou, Hainan Province, southern China, on April 14, 2026 (Xinhua News Agency/Pu Xiaoxu)
Doctors treat in smarter ways
From AI-assisted diagnosis to smart health platforms, China is stepping up efforts to incorporate AI into its evolving intelligent healthcare ecosystem, seeking to further increase efficiency and expand access to quality medical services.
A visitor tries out an AI-powered exoskeleton set at the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, southern China’s Hainan province, on April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Guocheng)Visitors learn about intelligent diagnostic equipment at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Agriculture Expo held at the Hunan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Changsha, central China’s Hunan Province on April 10, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Sihan)Visitors try out an AI-powered health diagnosis system at the 6th China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) held in Haikou, Hainan province, southern China, on April 14, 2026. (Xinhua/Guocheng)Staff (R) training foreign clinical support engineers at the technical service training center of Harbin Sagebot Intelligent Medical Equipment Co., Ltd. in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China, April 16, 2026. (Photo: Liu Yang/Xinhua)Specialists perform orthopedic surgery via a robotic surgery system at Beijing Anzhen Hospital Tongzhou Branch in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on February 3, 2026. Acting as intelligent assistants to doctors, these robot “staff” are powering smart transformation and upgrades in hospitals. (Xinhua/Li Xin)
AI education creates more innovative minds
Efforts are also underway to strengthen science and technology education at an early stage, integrate AI into education, and lay the foundations for developing an innovation-driven workforce.
A student from Zhejiang University of Technology’s College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering demonstrates an AI education platform developed by Chinese AI company iFLYTEK at the 2026 World Digital Education Conference held in Hangzhou, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, on May 11, 2026. (Xinhua News Agency/Jianghan News Agency)This photo taken on April 28, 2026, shows the inauguration of ScienceOne 100, an AI modeling system by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing, the capital of China. AI model systems support scientific research and enhance multiple scientific disciplines, including mathematics, physics, and biology. (Xinhua/Jin Liwan)Anhui University student Meng Renwei (C) wears an electrode cap to demonstrate an AIGC-based binary brain computer interface (BCI) counterfeit detection system at Anhui University in Hefei, eastern China’s Anhui province, on April 30, 2026. (Xinhua News Agency/Zhang Duan) ■Students interact with an AI-powered assistant known as “Qian Xiaowa” during a Chinese language class at Qixi Township Central School in Kaihua county, eastern China’s Zhejiang province, on April 17, 2026. (Xinhua News Agency)
By 2030, AI is expected to comprehensively enhance high-quality development in China, the penetration rate of next-generation intelligent terminals and agents will exceed 90%, and the intelligent economy will become a major growth driver.■
